Pumping With Oversupply?

Hello all,

So I've been told by my lactation consultant that I do have oversupply. My baby is 5.5 weeks old and doesn't seem to be TOO affected by it, but I still wanted to ask this question. When my husband feeds him a pumped bottle, I pump at that same time as well to maintain my supply for the long run. However, I am wondering, should I be pumping both breasts for the normal 15-20 min? When I do this, I get anywhere from 6.5-9 ounces total which is obviously way more than my baby is eating from my husband during that feeding session. I don't want to pump more than he's eating at that time in case it will further increase the amount of milk I'm producing! Should I continue this as I'm doing, or should I continue to pump both sides but just pump for like 5 min, or should I just pump one breast for the 15-20 min while he's eating?! I don't know?! What do y'all do?

Re: Pumping With Oversupply?

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the new baby!

in your shoes, I would do the following:
1. Try hand expression instead of pumping. It's supposed to be less stimulating to supply than pumping. If it doesn't work well for you, feel free to go back to pumping- but do give it a good try!
2. Instead of pumping or expressing for a set period of time, aim for a set amount of milk and then stop. I would aim to express no more than 3-4 oz, which is also the maximum amount you should be putting in a bottle. 1-2 oz is sufficient for getting a baby used to the bottle. You can pump both breasts or just one, it doesn't really matter as long as you stop before thoroughly draining yourself.
3. Examine your bottle use. If you're using the bottle to "get a break" from nursing, does that make sense given the fact that you end up having to pump? If you're using it to train the baby to take a bottle, is that strictly necessary at this time? If you're giving a bottle so that dad can have bonding time, would it be easier for you if dad found a different way to bond?